The Hill
by Stinkoman20X6
Summary: Ash and Co. share their feelings on their latest hangout spot, The Hill.  Some references to AAML.


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The Hill  
-by Stinkoman20X6  
-published June 17, 2007

Summary: Ash and Co. share their feelings on their latest hangout spot, The Hill. Some references to AAML.

Genre: General  
Shipping: None, but references to AshxMisty  
Rating: T, for one use of the word "hell"

Author's notes: This is my first emotionally-charged story, as opposed to the standard plot-driven variety. And when I say "first," I mean first EVER, not first published, so I apologize if it isn't up to the standards I've set for myself in the past. In addition, it's much shorter and certainly less polished than my other stories, which may be a turn-off for a lot of people, but I would appreciate knowing people's reactions to it. And there's only one good way to let me know what your reaction is. (Hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge.)

Disclaimer: This work of fiction and the author thereof are in no way affiliated with the entities that own the various aspects of the Pokémon franchise. These entities include, but are not limited to, the following: Nintendo of America Inc., Hasbro, Time Warner, Creatures, Game Freak, Pokémon USA, etc. Any mentions of the various aspects of the franchise as used in this story are in no way intended to deprecate the value thereof.  
This story, with the exception of the aspects of the Pokémon franchise mentioned previously, is the copyright of Stinkoman (sometimes Stinkoman20X6) as of the year 2007. This story is the intellectual property of the author and is not to be modified or distributed without the author's consent. To contact the author, please send an e-mail to stinkoman AT yahoo DOT com.

**Should you choose to review, please first read my review guide at http://geocities.com/stinkoman/reviewguide.html**

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One day, as our heroes were "training" in the months prior to competing in the Indigo League, they came upon a hill just outside Pallet Town that offered a perfect view of the afternoon sky, as well as being perfectly angled to catch an early evening breeze. Soon, the group established a daily tradition, when the weather allowed it, of coming to what quickly was dubbed simply "the hill" in order to get some needed rest and relaxation. Well, that was what they all told each other, but in reality their reasons were quite different...

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The hill is a lot of fun for me. I mean, training and everything is important, but so is relaxing, sitting around, and doing just a little bit of nothing. Or, failing that, doing quite a lot of nothing. I'm not too picky about it.

The nice thing about the hill is that, when we're there, our group's relationships change. While my friends may not like to admit it, they tend to get pretty jealous when we train, since I'm so much more advanced than they are. After all, when you've made it as far as I have, who wouldn't be jealous? I am a pretty awesome person, after all. But on the hill, there's nothing to be jealous about, so my friends can relax and stop worrying about trying to one-up me (not that they could anyway).

Even better, though, is just how it feels to be at the hill. I don't have to do anything; I can just laze the day away. There's nothing like feeling the grass under your legs and the wind across your face; in fact, not many places are better to be on a nice day. The hill feels like a perfect fit, like it was made just for me, and I don't have any problems with that.

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What is the hill to me? To me, the hill is about freedom. Not just freedom from strife or freedom from the rule of others; the hill represents freedom from worry and from responsibility. At the hill, I don't have to be concerned about what my teachers at school thought of me. I don't have to care what my parents think about what I'm doing with my life. And, most significantly, I don't have to care about what my friends are doing. When we're at the hill, what we think about each other becomes irrelevant; how we feel in our relationships becomes a trivial matter.

I like the hill because it means no worries for the rest of my day. Usually I feel really laden with the responsibilities of the group. I know that, in reality, I could try to split the load more evenly, and I'm sure the others could handle it fine. The problem, though, is that I am so used to being the one handling everything that it is hard for me to give up control. When I run the show, I can be confident everything will turn out, whereas if I hand responsibility to someone else, I get no such guarantee. I guess it's more my fault than anyone else, but I'm willing to shoulder the burden. After all, that way there is less work for the others and more satisfaction for me, so everybody wins.

But at the hill, it doesn't matter at all. There are no responsibilities, there are no chores, nothing that needs to get done. Hell, there aren't even things that we _want_ to get done. We just lie in the grass, and all is well. No worries. No worries at all.

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Oh, man, the hill. I mean, I like battling and everything, but day in and day out it starts to get a bit old. Especially Team Rocket: Weezing and "Charbok" aren't the slightest competition anymore, even in a two-on-one fight. Bo-ring.

But the hill. Sure, the others like to spend most of the time lying in the grass doing nothing, but who doesn't? Besides, after daily Team Rocket battles plus regular trainer and gym battles, lying on a sunny hill is paradise. And sometimes we play, which is even more fun. Ash bores easily, even more quickly than me, so he can always be counted on for a game of Tag or for a race. So what if it isn't really training? That's not the point of the hill; the hill is for _fun_.

That's one of the only things I dislike about my companions; they always put far too much importance on their goals. Sure being a great trainer is important, but what's the point if you do it at the expense of your own enjoyment? Live and let die, that's what I say. Well, something like that.

Me, I'll take the fun of the hill over the rigors of training any day of the week.

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I love the hill. Everything about it is great: watching the clouds drift above us, feeling the grass against my bare arms and legs, letting the breeze blow over us on a gorgeous summer day, everything. I get to spend time with my best friends in the world, in the nicest spot I know of, just lying there doing nothing.

Nothing...

I love the hill. Spending time with my friends has, over these past years, become what is most important to me. Sure, the rest of my life is important. My family is important, training is important, traveling the world and seeing new things is important...but being with my friends has become my real source of joy.

My friends...

I love the hill. We have so much fun together when we're there. Sure, we spend most of our time lying and doing nothing, but we occasionally rouse ourselves from our sloth to play around a bit. Brock especially enjoys grabbing us and pushing us so that we roll down the hill, just like we would do when we were little kids. Sometimes, one of us will bring a ball or frisbee to throw around, although that usually just ends with one of having to run down the hill to retrieve it after a bad throw. Occasionally I will steal Ash's hat, mostly because I know it annoys him, but also because I enjoy wearing it.

Ash...

I love the hill. I just wish the hill loved me back.

**Fin**

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Postscript: http://geocities.com/stinkoman/fiction/THps.html 


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